


Running Interference

by neil4god



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek scared the crap out of Stiles in Mexico, M/M, One-Shot, Scott is completely oblivious, Scott's POV, Sheriff knows more than he's letting on, get-together, hurt Malia (emotionally but she'll get over it), mates Sterek, post 4x12, spoilers for 4x12 do not read until you've watched it!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-10
Updated: 2014-09-10
Packaged: 2018-02-16 20:58:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2284275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neil4god/pseuds/neil4god
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott never thought about how weird it was that Derek and Stiles avoided each other. It had been months since they'd been in the same room together, but that was just them right? Stiles didn't like Derek and Derek would probably kill Stiles if he was left alone with him. Only all those times when they have been trapped alone together, well they save each other, don't they? Stiles saves Derek no matter what and Derek does everything he can to protect Stiles, that's who they are. So why the hell have they been avoiding each other then? Was he missing something?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Running Interference

They didn’t talk much. In fact they barely saw each other. Scott was usually the one telling Stiles whatever Derek told him. He wasn’t quite sure when that happened or even how or why. Without realising it he had been running interference for them. Gathered in the loft like this with everyone, Mason and Parrish included, to celebrate their victory in Mexico, well he was starting to notice some things. 

They were squashed onto the couch together, Stiles’ sides mashed up against Derek and yeah that was weird. Malia kept darting them strange looks whenever Derek inched closer (not that there was an inch left to move!) and things were ticking over in his head. The only time in the last few months that he had seen them together, physically in the same space was Mexico and before that nothing. They barely even looked at each other then. Derek stayed close to Braedan and refused to glance at Stiles as Malia wrapped herself around Stiles whether he wanted it or not. So sitting pressed together and finishing each others sentences was kinda weird. What was even weirder though was how right it seemed. All those darting looks, blue flashing with brown, it looked right. 

Braeden let her hand run through Derek’s hair, messing up his gel and Scott could swear Stiles tensed up, glaring at Derek. Scott watched as Derek’s ears tipped red and he ducked his head out of her way, mumbling excuses about hair product. Scott knew that look, that tense pained expression on Stiles’ face. He had seen a version of it every time Jackson touched Lydia, but never this extreme. Stiles looked ready to whack her over the head with a baseball bat, but Derek leaned closer, so their shoulders rubbed together. He was scent marking Stiles, or Stiles was scent marking him maybe. Scott wasn’t sure which way was up right now, but Malia was growling lightly under her breath, but one look from Derek stopped it. Her whine cut off immediately and she edged a little further away from Stiles. Something was going on between those two and he honestly doesn’t know how he missed it. They others are all laughing and talking together, someone’s laptop playing AWOL NATION, so Kira could dance. He should be watching her, how she moves so gracefully and tugs Liam up off the floor to laugh and dance with. He should be enjoying this moment of peace with his friends, before all the crazy starts again. But his best friend is plastered against Derek and they’re snarking at each other, it’s quiet but intense and Braeden can’t get a word in edgeways. Stiles has made sure of that. 

He listens in, even though he shouldn’t, but he has to. “You died Derek!”  
He sounds furious and freaked out as he continues, “You scared the living crap out of me man. What the hell am I supposed to do if you die huh? And telling me to go, to save them, what the fuck? Do you know how hard that was? How horrible that was?”  
Derek’s ears and cheeks are bright red and Braeden is trying to defend him, telling Stiles “I watched him die Stiles, not you and I’m fine with it so lay off.”  
Yeah that was not a tone Stiles was going to respond well to. Derek seemed to realise that too because he wrapped his hand around Stiles’ wrist and whispered, “I’m sorry Stiles. I didn’t know what else to do. I thought, I thought I was dying and I didn’t want you to watch that, not like you watched Claudia die.”  
Scott jack-knifed up, his body tense and waiting. Stiles was going to eviscerate him and then Scott would have to save him from being mauled by Derek. Instead Stiles tugged on his zipper with one hand and toyed with Derek’s fingers with the other, “Yeah well leaving you like that, not, not knowing and thinking that, well it’s as bad is all. I’m so fucking happy you’re ok.”  
Stiles’ voice was breaking, the emotions choking him and Scott can smell it, the love and the fear that Stiles had been drowning in since Mexico. He thought it was fear for all of them, for what was happening, but apparently he was wrong. It was all for Derek. 

Derek brushed his thumb across Stiles’ cheek wiping a tear away and Christ Braeden looked ready to murder someone. By contrast, Malia was curled in on herself on the opposite end of the couch, careful not to touch Stiles. “I’m sorry Stiles, I’m so sorry.”  
Stiles ducked his head, trying to hide his tears, but Derek saw them and hauled him onto his lap, tucking Stiles’ head into the crook of his neck and what the ever loving fuck was happening here? The sheriff took two steps towards them from the corner of the room before deliberately getting himself under control and sitting back down. Scott couldn’t help but notice the pitying looks he sent Malia’s way though. Braeden flinched back like she’d been burned, staring down at the two men. They were cuddling and Stiles was sobbing and Scott had no idea what to do. When had Stiles developed feelings for Derek? Since when did Derek like Stiles? How had he missed something this huge? Derek held on tight while Stiles cried himself out and everyone was staring now, drawn by the noise and the strange picture they made. Braeden was backing out of the room, grabbing her jacket off the counter. It was Lydia who broke the tension, saying loudly, “Finally! You guys took forever to figure things out!” At least someone knew what was going on, because he was confused. Since when was Stiles even gay, or was he not gay, bi? He needed to sit down and talk to his best bro and this time it needed to be all about Stiles, something he realised hadn’t happened in a really long time. 

He pulled Malia off the couch and hugged her tight, telling her she was still pack no matter what happened with her and Stiles. She hugged back fiercely and Scott’s surprised she’s letting it go so easily. In school any girl who even looked at Stiles got growled at and threatened, but Derek she backed off for. She must have seen it in his face, because she told him, “I knew the first time I met him that Derek belonged to Stiles. I just didn’t want to believe it.”  
Wait what? She laughed at his confusion and told him, “Yeah I mean Derek got de-aged and he recognized him, no hesitation, nothing. Mates can sense each other. I ignored it mostly, figured it was ok because Derek was older and had a girlfriend and Stiles deliberately stayed out of his way. I thought I’d have him until he was eighteen. Come on Scott, what’s with the face? You had to know they were into each other, Derek reeks of Stiles and they’re never together. Didn’t you think that’s weird?”  
Now that she says it, yes, Derek does smell a little like Stiles, but he’s always smelled that way. Talia turned to the couple on the couch, head down to avoid confrontation as she asked quietly, “Hey cousin, what’s the first thing you did when you came back to Beacon Hills?”  
Scott’s pretty sure the first thing he did was bury Laura and that was not something anyone should be bringing up at a party. Oddly though, it was the sheriff who answered, “First thing he did was break into the house and steal Stiles’ hoodie."  
Derek tried to hide his face behind Stiles, but Stiles was laughing so hard his entire body shook with it. “Oh my god Der, you didn’t!”  
Enjoying himself, the sheriff continued, “He’s been doing it ever since he got back, breaking in and stealing your clothes. I’m pretty sure he’s left some of his own behind too. He used to do the same when you were kids, bundled you up in his shirts and jackets so you wouldn’t get cold in the Californian heat. He’d bring you back home wrapped up like a mummy and sweating under all those layers. It would make your mom laugh so hard and Talia thought it was the most adorable thing ever. Makes sense now, it’s a scent thing right? You need him to smell like you? That’s why I had to haul Stiles out of the police car the first time I arrested you, he was keeping you calm with his scent.”  
“Yeah I mean I didn’t realise it at the time, but there was this driving need to be in the car with him, even though I was scared and he didn’t seem like the person I remembered. I was supposed to be with him.”  
Derek wrapped him up tighter in his arm, rubbing his stubble across Stiles’ bare neck and Scott knew exactly where this was heading and he did not want to watch. He cleared everyone out of the loft, herding Liam and Parrish to the door. Derek and Stiles didn’t even look up, too busy being together to notice the music had stopped or that everyone was leaving. He called out a goodbye and left them to it. Tomorrow he would call Stiles and they would talk, really talk. He smiled at everyone waiting in the elevator for him, this was his family now.


End file.
